Sofi is a term used to name the followers
of tasawwuf (particularly by those speaking Persian and Turkish).
According to some, it is Sufi. I think the difference arises
from the different views of the origin of the word. Those
who are of the opinion that it derives from ‘sof’ (wool) or
‘safa’ (spiritual delight, exhiliration) or ‘safwat’ (purity)
or sophos, a Greek word meaning wisdom, or that it implies
devotion, prefer the word Sufi. Others who hold that it derives
from ‘suffa’ (chamber) and stress that it should not be confused
with ‘sofu’ (religious zealot), use the word Sufi.

The
term sofi has been defined in different ways, some of which
are as follows:

A sofi is a traveler
to God who has been able to purify his self and acquired
inner light or spiritual enlightenment.

A sofi is a humble
soldier of God whom the Almighty has chosen for Himself
and freed from the influence of his carnal, evil-commanding
self.

A sofi is a traveler
to the Muhammadan Truth who wears a coarse, woolen cloak
not for show but as a sign of humility and nothingness and
renounces the world as the source of vices and animal desires.

Sofis wear a coarse
cloak made of wool and therefore are called ‘Mutasawwif’
in order to emphasize their states and their belief, conduct
and life-styles. For it has been the characteristic of the
Prophets and their followers and men of sincere devotion
to wear a coarse, woolen cloak.

A sofi is a traveler
to the peak of true humanity who has been freed from carnal
turbidity and all kinds of human dirt to realize his essential,
heavenly nature and identity.

A sofi is a man of
spirit who deserves to be called a sofi because he tries
to resemble the people of the Suffa—the poor, scholarly
Companions of the Prophet who lived in the chamber adjacent
to the Mosque of the Prophet—by dedicating his life to deserving
that name.

Some are of the opinion
that the word sofi is derived from ‘saf’ (pure). However,
although their praiseworthy efforts to please God and continuous
services of God with their hearts set on Him are enough for
them to be called pure ones, it is grammatically wrong that
sofi is derived from saf. Some have argued that sofi is derived
from sophia or sophos, a Greek word meaning wisdom. I think
this is a fabrication of foreign researchers who seek to find
a foreign origin for tasawwuf.

The first to be called
a sofi in Islamic history is Abu Hashim al-Kufi, a great ascetic
of his time. Abu Hashim died in 150 after hijra, which means
that the word sofi was in use in the second century of hijra
after the generation of the Companions and their blessed successors.

Sufism which we encountered
for the first time in Islamic history with Abu Hashim al-Kufi
appeared as a way of the people of spirituality following
the footsteps of our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings,
and his Companions in their life-styles. This is why sufism
has always been known and remembered as the spiritual dimension
of the Islamic way of life. With respect to its original purpose,
sufism has sought to educate people to set their hearts on
God and burn with love of Him. It has concentrated on good
morals and mannerliness in conduct in the footsteps of the
Prophets. It may well be claimed that some slight deviations
have appeared in it over time, but these deviations should
not be exploited as an excuse to condemn that way of spiritual
purity.

While describing the
sufis who lead a purely spiritual life, Imam Qushayri writes:
The greatest title in Islam is Companionship of the Prophet,
upon him be peace and blessings. This honor or blessing is
so great that it cannot be acquired by any one other than
the Companions. The second rank in greatness belongs to Tabi‘un,
the title of the fortunate ones who came after the Companions
and saw them. This is followed by Taba-i Tabi‘in, those came
after the Tabi‘un and saw them. Just after the closing years
of this third generation, and coinciding with the outbreak
of some internal conflicts and deviations in belief, together
with the Traditionists, jurisprudents and theologians who
rendered great services to Islam each in their own field,
the sufis realized significant accomplishments in reviving
the spiritual aspect of Islam.

Especially the early
sufis were distinguished, saintly persons. They led an upright,
honest, austere and simple life, free from all kinds of blemish,
far from seeking bodily happiness and gratification of carnal
desires, and followed the example of the Prophet, our Master,
upon him be peace and blessings. They were so balanced in
their belief and thinking that it is not possible to regard
them as followers of either ancient philosophers or Christian
mystics or Hindu fakirs. For, first of all, tasawwuf was considered
by its early followers and representatives as the science
of the inner world of man, the reality of things and the mysteries
of existence. A sofi was a student of this science, determined
to reach the final rank of universal or perfect man.

Tasawwuf is a long
journey leading to the Infinite One and demands unending efforts.
It is a marathon to be run without stopping with an unyielding
resolution and without anticipating anything worldly. It has
nothing to do with Western or Eastern types of mysticism or
yogism or philosophies. And a sofi, who is the hero determined
to run this marathon and reach the Infinite One, is neither
a mystic nor a yogi nor a philosopher.
It is, however, a fact that prior to Islam some Hindu and
Greek philosophers followed a way leading to self-purification
and struggled against their carnal desires and the attractions
of the world. But the way they followed and tasawwuf are essentially
different from each other. For, first of all, while the sofis
seek to purify their selves through invocation, regular worship,
utmost obedience to God, self-control, and humility, and continue
to follow their way until death, the ancient philosophers
did not observe any of these rules or acts. Their self-purification—if
it really deserves to be considered as such—usually caused
conceit and arrogance in many of them rather than humility
and self-criticism.

The
sofis can be divided into two categories with respect to the
path they follows:

The first category
comprises those who give priority to knowledge and seek
to reach their destination through knowledge of God (ma’rifa).

The second category
consists of those following the path of yearning, spiritual
ecstasies and spiritual discoveries.

The former spend their
lives by continuously traveling toward God, progressing ‘in’
God and progressing from God on the wings of knowledge and
knowledge of God, and try to realize the meaning of There
is no power and strength save with God. Every change, alteration,
transformation and formation they observe in existence and
every event they witness or themselves experience, is like
a comprehensible message from the Holy Power and Will experienced
in different tongues.

As for the second category,
although they are serious in their journeying and asceticism,
they may sometimes, since they are in pursuit of discovering
hidden realities or truths, miracle-working, spiritual pleasure
and ecstasies, suffer deviations from the main destination
and fail to reach God Almighty. Although it is grounded on
the Qur’an and Sunna, this second path may yet lead some initiates
to cherish certain desires and expectations such as having
a spiritual rank, being able to work miracles, being known
as a saint, etc. That is why the former path, which is the
path leading to the greatest sainthood under the guidance
of the Qur’an, is safer.

The
sofis divide people into three groups:

The first group comprises
those they call the perfect ones who have reached the destination.
This group is divided into two sub-groups, namely the Prophets
and the perfected ones who have reached the Truth by strictly
following them. It is possible that some among those perfected
ones are not guides; rather than guiding people to the Truth,
they remain annihilated or drowned in the waves of the ‘ocean
of union and bewilderment.’ Their relations with the visible,
material world are completely severed and therefore they
live unable to guide others.

Those belonging to
the second group are called initiates. They are also divided
into two sub-groups. The first sub-group are those who completely
renounce the world and, without considering the Hereafter,
seek only God Almighty. The second group consists of the
initiates who aim to enter Paradise and do not completely
give up tasting some lawful pleasures of the world. They
are called by different titles such as ascetics, worshipping
ones, the poor or the helpless.

As for the third
group, since their aim is only to live an easy, comfortable
life in the world, the sofis call them the settling or clinging
ones - those who cling heavily to the earth. They are evil,
unfortunate ones belonging, according to what the Qur’an
calls them, to ‘the group on the left’, who are ‘blind’
and ‘deaf’ and do not understand.

Some have also referred
to the three groups mentioned as the Foremost or those brought
near to God, the people on the right, and the people on the
left.